us today for getting answers. we will be answering questions from experts around the bay area. tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the alarming moment in the air. the plane in chicago hitting a flock of birds. the sparks. and the top u.s. military official onboard. the dramatic images showing what happens when the jet hits those birds. the military plane then making an immediate landing. a member of the joint chiefs of staff onboard. and stephanie ramos standing by. also tonight, the busiest travel week of the year under way at this hour. 55 million americans driving or flying this thanksgiving. the biggest number since before the pandemic. and after a summer filled with delays and cancellations, gio benitez tonight inside united's command center. are they and the other airlines better prepared? gio benitez on that and ginger zee tracking two systems this thanksgiving week. and it might be coming home that's most affected.

in colorado springss tonight, inside that deadly nightclub shooting. you will hear from the army veteran who took down the alleged gunman inside that lgbtq club. the veteran there with his wife, his daughter, and his daughter's boyfriend, who did not survive. they were there supporting a loved one. and what that vet, who tackled the suspect, what he's asking of everyone this thanksgiving. matt gutman is there tonight. with thanksgiving here, tonight, what health officials are now warning about the triple virus threat. rsv, covid, and the flu. the children's hospital in texas taking in a child every two minutes. and it's not just children getting rsv. tonight, there's also news on the latest covid booster, how effective it is against covid right now. dr. fauci's final briefing. mireya villarreal tonight. the search for the killer of four students from the university of idaho. and tonight, we learn that authorities are investigating whether one of the victims may have had a stalker. kayna whitworth reporting again tonight. the supreme court dealing former president trump another

major setback. denying his request to block his taxes from being turned over to congress. so, what happens now? jon karl is here. the deadly helicopter crash. the pilot and local meteorologist killed when the chopper goes down just off the interstate. we also have news tonight on a driver who smashed right into that apple store. also, the stunner at the world cup. and the star player off the team. and america strong tonight. so many americans giving this holiday. good evening and it's great to have you with us herenight. the holiday travel week well under way tonight. at least 55 million americans set to drive or fly for thanksgiving. we have it all covered, including two systems we're tracking. ginger zee standing by. but we're going to begin with the alarming moment in the air in chicago. a plane hitting a flock of birds. a top u.s. military official onboard. and we know the danger of bird

strikes, but rarely do we see it this clearly. the air force c-37 taking off from chicago, hitting the boards right there. you can see smoke from the engines roshgtss of sparks flying. the plane making an immediate landing right back at the airport. onboard, general daniel hochenson, a member of the joint chiefs of staff. and abc's stephanie ramos leading us off tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the dramatic moment this air force c-37 with the united states of america emblem painted on its side, carrying one of the nation's top military officials, forced to land after hitting a flock of birds shortly after takeoff. the jet departing chicago's midway airport last night. you can see it here taxiing on the runway, then seconds after takeoff, flying directly into the flock of more than a dozen birds. you can see the engine begin to smoke after impact. the crew calling into the tower. >> so we're going to be coming back. we just took a bunch of birds on takeoff. >> reporter: first responders meeting the plane back on the tarmac. on board, general

daniel hokanson, head of the national guard, and a member of the joint chiefs of staff. the 89th airlift wing saying the crew of the c-37 "safely returned to the airport out of an abundance of caution" and there were no injuries. >> the problem for the pilots is this is a very critical time flight. the airplane has very little energy, it's trying to climb away from the ground and to ingest a flock of birds can cause a loss of an engine or sometimes even loss of both engines. >> reporter: wild life strike incidents are on the rise and can be dangerous. more than 12,000 have been reported to the faa this year alone. tonight, the 89th air lift wing says the incident is under investigation. general hochenson remained in chicago overnight, returning to d.c. today aboard another military aircraft. david? >> all right, stephanie ramos tonight. stephanie, thank you. a rattling moment on that flight, and it comes as 55 million americans are setting out to drive or fly this thanksgiving to their

destination. these are the biggest numbers since before the pandemic. we've reported on the delays and cancellations as travel picks up at the pandemic. so, tonight, the question, are the airlines better prepared? and ginger zee standing by on these two systems. it looks like the trip home might be most affected. first, gio benitez inside united's command center tonight, he's in chicago. >> reporter: tonight marks the start of the busiest stretch of travel for american families in years. >> things were a little hectic down in d.c. the airport was certainly full. >> reporter: airports packed, from new york's laguardia to minneapolis, and cincinnati. that's in spite of higher ticket prices, 43% higher than last year, according to hopper. chicago's o'hare is the home of united airlines. >> this is the bridge. >> reporter: we want inside united's command center, tracking every flight's every move on the busiest day of the year. we asked joe heins, the man in charge, about those staffing issues across the airline industry and the problems that were blamed onweather this summer.

we know this past summer we saw a lot of weather challenges with the airlines. >> yes. >> reporter: were there lessons learned during that time? >> well, certainly the biggest lessons learned were around resources. we did learn that you cannot overschedule your crews and you cannot overschedule your airplanes. >> reporter: and while today is the busiest day to fly before thanksgiving, tomorrow, wednesday, is the busiest day to drive. in fact, it's going to be up about 43% higher than normal traffic on wednesday. >> reporter: gas prices down 17 cents in the past month, but still high, as our trevor ault explains. >> 49 million americans will be driving this thanksgiving. and while gas prices are falling, aaa says the $3.63 national average for a gallon is still the most expensive thanksgiving week since they started tracking. >> reporter: but tonight, the urge to gather taking center stage. and david, as people go back home, sunday could be the busiest day to travel in almost three years. so, to make things a little bit easier at the airport, reserve a

parking spot in advance and don't check a bag. david? >> gio benitez to us tonight, gio, thank you. let's get right to ginger zee. and overall, not a bad thanksgiving forecast. i took a peek before we came on tonight, but you are tracking a couple of systems that might impact travel? >> reporter: you know, david, it is rare for me to be able to say to you that the days leading up to and on thanksgiving look kind of blemish free. but we can't stay that for the whole weekend. let's dive into the maps. a couple of showers in the rockies, but the rain really starts getting to going in louisiana, you see that with new orleans, baton rouge getting wet. we'll move it across i-10, atlanta on friday morning. so, black friday itself could be trouble on i-75. or if you are flying in and out of hartsfield. some showers up in the northeast. but then there's a second system and this is the one, david that i'm concerned for the tri-state, a lot of air activity. back to parts of watertown, where you had all of that heavy

snow. david? >> we'll watch it all week with you, ginger. in the meantime, we continue with the other news tonight, and to colorado springs, and inside the deadly shooting at that lgbtq club. tonight, you will hear from the army veteran who tackled the alleged gunman. he was there with his wife, his daughter, and his daughter's boyfriend. the boyfriend did not survive. they were there supporting a loved one. and what that vet, who tackled the suspect, what he's asking of everyone this thanksgiving. and tonight, take a look. the faces of the five who did not survive. derek rump, ashley paug, raymond green vance, daniel aston, and kelly loving. matt gutman in colorado springs again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, the suspect in the colorado springs nightclub massacre moved from a hospital to a jail. he's set to appear in court tomorrow. 22-year-old anderson lee aldrich arrested on ten preliminary charges, including five counts of murder and hate crimes. >> if this is, in fact, a hate crime, then it's important for us to signal to the world that we don't tolerate hate crimes in this community. >> reporter: but aldrich was known to authorities.

this ring camera footage showing him surrendering to police in 2021 after allegedly making a bomb threat against his mother. >> there was s.w.a.t. team, bomb squad, the whole nine yards. >> reporter: leslie bowman, the owner of that home, witnessed the moment. would you say that those were some significant warning signs? >> yeah, absolutely. someone who can threaten his grandparents as well as his mother with weapons and explosives, that's very, very serious, and a big warning sign. >> reporter: but aldrich's family refused to press charges. and because of that, the case was dismissed and aldrich's record sealed. and that, authorities say, allowed him to legally purchase that ar-style rifle. and on the night of the mansion sacker, richard fierro, an army veteran, was at the club with his wife and daughter to watch their friend wyatt kent perform. he says the gunman walked through the door shooting. seconds later, fierro pouncing. >> i grabbed him by the back of this little, cheap armor thing,

and i pulled him down. i grabbed the pistol from him. and i'm on top of him. i'm a big dude, man, and this guy was bigger. and i just kept wailing. he's trying to get his ammo, his guns. >> reporter: the decorated vet with four tours in iraq and afghanistan thanked today by president biden for his bravery. >> that guy is still alive, and my family is not. i tried. i tried to finish him. >> reporter: his family survived, but his daughter's boyfriend, raymond green vance, among the five killed. 19 others were wounded, including ed sanders, shot in the leg and back. explosion. crunchy, like a mini- >> reporter: that night, wearing that red velvet suit, he wheeled around to see what hit him. >> it seemed like he was looking at me, but he was shooting wildly. he wasn't pinpointing. >> reporter: tonight, sanders is wounded, but defiant. >> club q, i'm going back there just as soon as they open. i'm not going to be afraid or

intim intimidated. >> determines to return. and we're glad he's going to be okay. he has a road ahead of him. matt gutman with us from colorado springs. and matt, we heard there from the army veteran that took down the suspect, but something else that he said that struck us all here. >> i really hope people kind of use this and shake someone's hand, give someone a hug, give them a kiss. >> matt, his very simple wish after all this horror. >> reporter: david, just met with rich. he said everybody there that night was in the same foxhole, and said if the hill tear taught him anything, it's to embrace different kinds of people. and he said he's not a hero, but if you want to see heroes, look around the table this thanksgiving. david? >> all right, matt gutman. matt, thank you. with thanksgiving week here, tonight, what health officials are warning about the triple virus threat. rsv, covid, and the flu. tonight, our team at the children's hospital in texas. and it's not just the children getting rsv.

tonight, there's also news on the latest covid booster, how effective it is right now against covid. the encouraging numbers. and tonight, dr. fauci's final briefing. abc's mireya villarreal in texas. >> reporter: with millions of families ready to gather for thanksgiving, health officials are warning the country's surge in respiratory infections could get worse. >> we are concerned that after holiday gathering, lots of people coming together, that we may see increases in the number of covid-19 cases. >> reporter: some pediatric hospitals are already full, like cook children's in fort worth, texas, where they're taking in a new patient every two minutes. >> i worry about our bed capacity. we've already had some challenges finding beds for children who need to be admitted to the hospital. >> reporter: in san antonio, natalie torres took her 2-month-old daughter kehlani to the hospital because she was struggling to breathe. >> she was trying to gasp for air, like, she just kept throwing up and everything. >> reporter: she says they waited ten hours for an open bed.

but it's not just the young getting sick. older people are being hospitalized with the virus rsv at an alarming rate. >> we're seeing those numbers rise dramatically. we're higher than we have been for this time of year over the last nine years. >> reporter: a new cdc study out today shows the updated covid booster provides additional protection against the recent omicron subvariants, up to 56% effective against infection, and experts believe protection against severe illness is much higher. today, dr. anthony fauci, who is retiring after 54 years with the nih, used his final white house briefing to urge americans to get the new booster. >> maybe the final message i give you from this podium is that, please, for your own safety, for that of your family, get your updated covid-19 shot as soon as you're eligible. >> reporter: and david, doctors are already predicting this will be a very tough flu season. trust me, it has been through my house and it was not very fun.

the good news is, as health officials are saying right now, the current vaccine that is out is actually very well matched with the strains that are already circulating. david? >> yeah, the flu vaccine, a good match this year and that is good news. thank you. now to the search for the killer of four students from the university of idaho, and tonight, we have learned that authorities are now investigating whether one of the victims may have had a stalker. abc's kayna whitworth again 207b9. >> reporter: tonight, with the search for the killer of four university of idaho students now in its second week, police say they are looking into whether victim kaylee goncalves had a stalker. is there confirmation that kaylee specifically had a stalker? >> so, detectives are aware of this information, and we are investigating it. it's a whole other dynamic of this investigation. >> reporter: police maintain this was a targeted and isolated attack. the victims were found on the second and third floors of the offcampus home, the two survivors on the ground level. the coroner says the victims were likely asleep when they were stabbed multiple times with a fixed blade knife, but there

was evidence of defensive wounds. overnight, ethan chapin's grieving mother burying her eldest triplet, his siblings by her side. >> today, we're here to honor the life and legacy of our son and brother, ethan chapin, one of the most incredible people you'll ever know. >> reporter: it was just weeks prior that chapin's girlfriend xana kernodle seen in this tiktok video from inside the house with roommates goncalves and madison mogen. the faces of the two surviving roommates blurred because police haven't released their identities yet. also in that video, goncalves' dog, which authorities say was found unharmed at the home. tonight, this college town increasingly on edge, but authorities remain optimistic they will find the killer. >> that may come from tips. that may come from evidence collected in the scene. but there is a piece of evidence out there somewhere that's going to help us solve this case. >> reporter: and david, authorities telling mel they're learning a lot more as community members are sending in

surveillance video. this, as moments ago, the university thanking idaho state police for stepping up patrols on campus for the foreseeable feature. david? >> all right, kayna whitworth on this case from the start. tonight, the supreme court has delivered former president trump a new blow, clearing the way now for congress to get his tax returns. let's get right to chief washington correspondent jonathan karl with us tonight. jon? >> reporter: david, after a 3 1/2-year legal battle, democrats in congress will finally get access to trump's tax returns. but the long legal battle has left them with virtually no time to go through them. whatever investigation they start now will almost certainly be shut down when republicans take over the house in january. but david, while trump succeeded in delaying all of this, he was once again shut down by the supreme court. the supreme court, even with the three justices he put on the court, has repeatedly denied him. they denied his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, they denied his efforts to keep the january 6th committee from

getting his white house documents. and now, they have denied his request to keep congress from getting his tax returns. >> all right, jon karl, thank you. next tonight, with president biden's sweeping college loan forgiveness plan tied up in the courts, tonight, the biden administration extending the pause of repaying those college loans. in a message posted on twitter, president biden delaying repayments from june 30th now to weigh in.supreme court time to - the pandemic era pause on student loan repayments was set to expire on december 31st. when we come back on this tuesday night, the deadly helicopter crash. the pilot and the local tv meteorologist killed, going down just off the interstate. i missed a lot of things when i was away. you know, cancer, chemo, covid, that kind of away. certainly missed my family, being with them, and i missed my friends, making movies. ♪♪

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for thanksgiving. we're making hundreds of pumpkin pies to donate. >> hi, david. >> from america's test kitchen. >> happy thanksgiving. >> $30 a pie. 100% of the sales going to feeding families. >> hi, david. >> matt helping to pick up the pies. >> i got a van with me. i got another assignment, heading a up canal more. >> hello, david. >> arnold carrying them.>>'ve b. >> in maryland, leslie and her company mama's biscuits. the recipe from her grandma. more than 50 flavors now. all baking for thanksgiving. they're hiring and mentoring. >> what i'm most thankful for is my expansion. being able to hire this year and being able to bring on more jobs next year. >> 5,000 stores nationwide, 7,000 stores next year. and a mentorship program for bakers.

>> from mammama's biscuits to "world news tonight" -- >> happy thanksgiving. >> fourth and fifth graders collecting canned goods for weeks. donating them to sisters road to freedom, serving families in need. 2,126 cans for thanksgiving. >> hello, david! >> tonight, the students -- >> i want them to have food for thanksgiving. >> and back in massachusetts -- >> hi, david. >> uma and his 4-year-old son grateful for the help. >> i want to say thank you, everybody, and happy holidays. >> and a final wish from the students. >> happy thanksgiving! >> right back at you. never underestimate the generosity of americans. we needed that tonight. i'll david muir. have a good evening. good night.

>> building a better bay area, moving forward, finding solutions, this is abc 7 news. >> good afternoon. thanks for joining us. >> we begin today with the end of two weeks of the long battle for mayor of oakland. councilmember lauren taylor conceded the race to competitors chantel. >> abc anchor dion lim is here with the wind that is making history. >> the margin of victory was razor thin and for a while lauren taylor was leading in first choice votes. at 37 years old chantel is one of the youngest mayors in oakland history. during the lunch rush at lower restaurant in oakland there is a sense of pride following shang towels victory.

>> growing up you tend to not see too much asian representation like media and what not she is the daughter of refugees from laos. in 2018 she became the first mom to be elected to city council in california. >> maybe if younger kids have summing to look up to, it might help build them up more. >> the wind comes after a ballot count due to rank-choice voting cared taylor conceded in his bid tuesday morning. the victory came down to less than seven hundred votes. >> seeing that the ballots that are out there, the possibilities of getting a few votes in our direction are not going to tip the scale, i concede